147 Million Orphans Blog

how many hits?

We started the day with pedis and manis....a GIRL day, while Dad and the boys went to play basketball. We missed Grace, she went to Eagle Creek to hand out Easter baskets and share Christ with children that have never heard the name Jesus.

After a morning of fun, we headed to Nonnie and Poppie's for dinner and an egg hunt.....

the judges...making sure that there was no cheating...haha

after much searching..the golden egg was found!

I LOVE FAMILY!!

May God give you faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly in the fact that God raised him from the dead. May you come to know that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and there is no other. May we all remember that Jesus is the Judge whom we will all face, because it is appointed to man once to die and then comes judgment. May God have mercy on us, that we will beg for mercy and pardon from him and be saved.

Whew! I am finally beginning to feel the cloud lift from over my head. Getting the "147 million orphans "spring line out was quite the task. We made a few changes in production, so as we took one step forward , we seemed to take three steps back. I am so thankful to have it all out and most of it on the site now....there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. Our latest arrival is earrings from Uganda....I LOVE THEM!! I can't wait for you all to see them!!

The past few weeks have brought MANY storms and tornadoes to the Middle Tennessee area. Our children have been at school in lock down/tornado mode several times with the lights flickering on and off. One day, Gwen and I were trying to get some work done and as we were leaving an apointment, golf ball size hail came crashing down. We dashed into a parking garage, just in time for our phones to start ringing informing us that a tornado was blowing over head. S-C-A-R-Y!!

I was busy cooking dinner last week when Mike called and told me to take the kids to the basement. A tornado was headed our way (AGAIN!) So, I turned my veggies off and took off down the stairs....children in tow. I decided to take a video of our time spent in the basement. Thankfully, a few days before, we had picked up toys, so that they would have room to play.

As we sat underground, SAFE, I felt SO thankful. Thankful for my children. Thankful that the Lord had given me each and every one of them.....truly gifts. And thankful that I have a large family. Watching them play ball together made me think of the MANY people that have commented about how we have our own ball team. We ARE a team. Mike and I talk about our parenting being TEAMWORK on a regular basis. If I didn't have him as a team mate, I would surely be defeated. My children get "it". They understand that we all have to work together for this ship to sail.

Here is an example: In November, I went to a meeting with Joshua's teachers. They explained that there was some concern for Joshua to proceed to kindergarten next year. A few examples: He only knew 9 of his letters, could count to 19, and his name was barely legible. As I left the meeting, my mind swirled with the series of events that have surrounded Joshua the past year. Josie's homecoming, MANY visits to Vanderbilt, life with seven instead of six children, and the list goes on......NO WONDER THE POOR CHILD IS BEHIND....can someone say loco?!? It is a good thing that I submit each and every one of my children to the Lord each night. It is very comforting to know that HE cares about all of those details. He laid it out before me, so it would not go unnoticed any longer. HE loves my children so much more than I can fathom...HOW COMFORTING!

I called MillerAnne and Annabelle into the kitchen and explained what was going on with Joshua at school. I asked them if they would help me catch him up. We talked about how demanding that Josie is for me right now. I explained that when they are playing "school" they could actually teach him! I showed them the areas that he was behind. They took it to heart!! Sisters ON A MISSION! Yesterday, I went to my mailbox and there was a packet. It showed Joshua's progress since last Oct/Nov. He now knows ALL of his letters(lower and upper case), he can count to 100, knows ALL of his colors, shapes, and everything else!! His name is clearly written, and now they are teaching him how to write it in cursive!! He is totally caught up! They get "it!" They have owned their role as big sisters. AND they take responsibility for their family. I LOVE IT!!

I am so thankful for that little piece of fruit that the Lord gave me. We often are so busy pruning, planting, and maintaining our children, that we do not take time to enjoy the fruit. It is the sweetest fruit to ever touch your mouth.

There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother.There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.“For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”This too is meaningless— a miserable business!

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:8-12

Listen to the words of this song while you read....I make reference to it later in this post....

I have been trying to read Jesus Calling all morning. It is 1pm, just got the kids down for naps and have finally picked it up. Sarah Young very quickly reminded me how trusting HIM is a moment by moment choice. Whenever we see Him move in a mighty way, we trust HIM intensely- but only temporarily . Soon the grumbling begins again. When things go wrong, our trust flow slows down or solidifies. Then we are forced at the fork in the road to stay on the path of life with HIM, or change our path.

Trusting HIM when Josie was so ill was SO easy because I had NOTHING else to cling to. Now that she is full of energy and into EVERYTHING, I grumble, grumble, grumble. I am tired! I am sick of battling with preschoolers, I do not like waking up at 5am to little fingers poking my arm, just to open my eyes and be nose to nose with someone that wants breakfast RIGHT NOW......GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE.

And then I look ahead, try to see the "big picture." My oldest (Grace) posted "Born to be somebody" as her status the other night on Facebook. I googled the song by Justin Bieber and it made my heart smile. The normal person, would listen to that song and think about making it big in the world....becoming famous. For Grace it means that there is a part of her that no one really "knows" or understands because half of her heart is in Africa and she can't really be all the God has made her to be until she is serving in that capacity. SO worth the preschool battles and nose to nose mornings! I just have to keep praying that the Lord will use these little ones for HIS glory and that I do not kill them before their time comes to serve..hahaha. In the meantime, I am going to be grateful that God has pierced Graces heart for the things that are the MOST important to HIM. I am going to keep praying that the Lord continues to draw her close to his heart and that during this time, HE will mold her into the perfect wife for someone special and that she will continue to long for the desires of HIS heart and not what our world tells her is the right "social" thing to do.

He tells us over and over that if we will follow HIM, that we will see the fruits from abiding in HIM. When I look into the face of my oldest, it gives me hope and keeps me focused on the next six that are following her. While they are all wonderfully and UNIQUELY made, He has a specific DIFFERENT plan for each and every one of them and I cannot wait to see what it is!

I just hope I am alive to see it and I haven't collapsed from exhaustion!

I've been waiting for something "special" to happen to share with you guys and it just hasn't happened! I could give you a run through of one of my days and it would be entertaining. I could empty out my thoughts and you'd be really confused...

I think I have had such a bad case of spring fever that now that I am slowly watching it appear, I am almost in disbelief. I took my 5 youngest out for ice cream the other day...that makes me smile. I laid out a blanket today and had a picnic in my front yard with my three littles today for lunch...that makes me smile. I also laid out some meat to grill for dinner..that makes me smile. We have a free night tonight...everybody will be home for dinner...that makes me smile. AND I have planned a dinner and a movie for me and my sweets for Saturday night....that REALLY makes me smile.

It's the little things....with the people that I love the most that make me happy. I am going to be thankful today rather than be defeated:0)

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About Me

suzanne

I am a lover of Jesus. I have the most fabulous husband that anyone woman could ask for. The Lord has blessed us with 7 beautiful children. I started this blog so that friends and family could follow our trip to Uganda to visit Katie Davis. I have decided to keep blogging to help bring orphan awareness to the world around me.